Sarah Kingsley and
John Cleveland were married on June 10, 1826. Sarah was recently
widowed, losing her first husband to illness. Sarah and John had
two children, Augusta and Alexander. In the mid 1830’s Sarah and
Augusta joined the Mormon Church. Although they were friendly to
Mormonism, John and Alexander did not join but attended another church.
In 1836 the family moved to Quincy, Illinois which, unknown to them at
the time, would soon become the center of Mormonism.

In early 1839, church
members were relocating from Missouri to Nauvoo (near Quincy). At
the time, Joseph Smith was a prisoner in the Liberty Jail and his wife,
Emma, and children lived with the Clevelands in Quincy. On March
21, Joseph wrote to Emma, “I would ask if [Mr.] Cleveland will be kind
enough to let you and the children tarry there untill [I] can learn something
fu[r]ther concerning my fate [I] will reward him well if he will...”.
Near the end of April, after being in prison for five months, Joseph was
freed. He reunited with his family at the Cleveland home and lived
there for another three weeks, before moving to Nauvoo. Two weeks
later the Clevelands received a letter from Joseph indicating that he had
selected a lot for them in Nauvoo, just across the street from his own.

Sometime in early 1842,
the Clevelands relocated from Quincy to Nauvoo. Emma soon chose Sarah
as her counselor in the women’s Relief Society organization. About
this same time Sarah, now fifty-four, also became one of Joseph Smith’s
wives. As was common practice for Joseph’s wives, Sarah stood as
witness at a subsequent wedding ceremony when Joseph married Eliza R. Snow
in June of 1842. That same spring, rumors surfaced in the Relief
Society about Joseph’s recent marriage to Agnes Coolbrith. Sarah
came to his defense, warning “the Society against speaking evil of Prest.
J. Smith...that it would not be a light thing in the sight of God...[she]
express’d her fears that the Lord would cut off those who will not take
counsel” and “said we would have none among us who would speak against
the prophet of the Lord”

After Joseph Smith
was killed in 1844, the Mormons migrated west to Utah. On February
8, 1846, Sarah’s son-in-law wrote, “This day Started for the Mountains...myself,
wife, Mother-in-law [Sarah] &...Alexander...they [are] feeling to go
with the Saints & leave husband & father as he John Cleveland does
not belong to the church” On the day Sarah and Alexander left,
John “was away in the Country at work”. Four days into the
trip, “it being extremely cold [the leaders] advised Mother Cleveland
& Son Alexander to Return & Stay with Father Cleveland untill we
were located Some where & could return for them”. Sarah returned
to her husband John, but she never did journey to Utah. Her biography
later reported that, “Brigham Young...counciled her to stay with her
Husband as he was a good man, having shown himself kind ever helping those
in need...”